Union Town
Known as Union Town to its survivors, and Vault 4 Village by members of the Idaho Enclave, Union Town is a suburban sprawl defended by a simply gigantic wall that can be seen as a dot on the horizon were one to look to the east of Boise. Up close however the Wall is a massive barricade of concrete and steel stretching over sixty feet into the sky, an imposing citadel defended by snipers, machine gun nests, and landmines. Unbeknownst to everyone in the wasteland, within the Walls confines is a snapshot of pre-War America. Apple Pie and flag waving (along with clean water, power, and even a functioning IRS group) are in abundance and the people live ideal Pre-War lives. But with the Idaho Brotherhood of Steel trying to gain entrance, and the Vaults main generator wearing out, some fear that the "Ideal America" is not long for this brutal, hellish world. History Pre-War Vault 4 was conceived by Vault-Tec to be an experiment into whether or not a culture could be effectively frozen in time through the use of extreme isolation while keeping the subjects environment as familiar as possible. Knowing that the potential Great War would render areas completely without any government control, the experiment attempted to create a 'slice' of ideal pre-War American suburbia and see if it could perpetuate itself without any outside influence. To this end, Vault 4 was built smack-dab in the middle of a large suburb on the outskirts of Boise, Idaho. The Vault's generator and water purification system was linked to that of every home and even the local high school in the suburban sprawl. Vault-Tech was certain that its inhabitants would have nearly every facet of Pre-War lifestyle available, and secretly took over the construction of the surrounding suburb itself, building everything from about four Dot's Diners, a theater, and even a public library should the School's be insufficient. Though appearing a commonplace to the untrained eye, these homes and their appliances were designed to weather the twenty years of a post-nuclear war neglect they were to suffer following the war. Automatic turrets and security robots were set up in areas underneath the streets, where they would rise following the bomb threat and deter any "unwanted" trespassers. In the end, all the pieces were in place for Vault-Tec's great human experiment when the bombs fell. The Great War When the bomb sirens rang out on October 23rd, 2077, the people of the Suburb, known as Union Town, all filed calmly into the Vault, lay in their individual cryo pods, and slept out the atomic destruction that rained down on the world. Unlike other Vaults, who were mostly vacant due to people ignoring the bomb warnings as just another drill, the people of Union Town completely filled the Vault to its ideal capacity. The only casualty was Old Lady Walters, who suffered a heart attack on her way into the Vault and was subsequently the first person to be placed into the Organic Materials Recycling Chamber by the Protectron attendants who minded the Vault. The Vaults perfect attendance was likely due to the convenience of Vault 4's location, being literally a two minute drive at most for the furthest citizens. It might also be due to the fact that Vault-Techs messages and assurances that all citizens in Union Town must report at every drill were much more aggressive in that particular area, as any deaths or losses may adversely affect the cultural experiment. Post War The residents of Vault 4 waited out the war and the subsequent anarchy following it for the standard twenty years. The Vault itself saw little in the way of activity, as its residents were in deep cryosleep and its Protectron technicians kept everything running smoothly with no errors whatsoever. However, at the twenty year mark, only the assigned Security members and Overseer were awakened. 2097-2100 The Overseer and his men awoke on the first of April, 2097, and were given their instructions via the Chief of Maintenance, Protectron-0900z or "Dudly." Dudly informed the security group of their current mission and it was as simple as it was daunting, build a wall around Union Town that could keep out any and all conceivable threats short of a second nuclear war. In an age without any modern construction equipment and being desperately short of any labor, that was a tall order. They were also informed that the civilians would not awaken until the wall was complete, but that all hope was not lost. The security force had the built in defenses of Union Town, who were under Dudly's command and therefore the Overseer's. Dudly also informed them that he had sent reconnaissance units that had made contact with a, "local distributor of labor", and that their representatives would arrive shortly. It was four long years before the slavers of a group known as Lola's Guns arrived with a whole slave caravan in tow. Though the Overseer and his men were disgusted with the concept of using slaves, they were out of options and now was not the time for Pre-War values. The slavers demanded payment, and when the Overseer brought forth several safes filled with pre-War dollars, the wrathful barking the slavers issued back with made the situation more than just a little tense. Just as blood was about to be spilled, Dudly waddled forth, two of his fellow Protectrons in tow with a sack full of Nuka Cola bottle caps each. This payment was sufficient, and the slavers agreed to supply the forces of Union Town with slaves for as long as they needed it. The walls construction had begun. 2100-2110 For ten years the forces of the Overseers security forces and Dudly's robotic brethren fought off raiders and mutants of every description, all the while the slaves toiled to raise the wall with scrap metal and concrete. The need for raw materials was always dire, and hundreds of scouting parties went out into the wasteland in search of even the most basic piles of scrap metal. Often the services of Lola's Guns were needed to secure any real return in scrap and concrete, and the mercenaries neither sat well with the Overseer or his men (they also charged exorbitant fees). However, by 2110, many of the surviving security officers had lost their nerve. Ten years of hellish combat, plus the fear that their loved ones in the vault would never wake up, wore on their nerves. But the Overseer preformed the Herculean feat of keeping his men in fighting shape, and never wasted a chance to remind them that as soon as the wall was satisfactory to the Chief of Maintenance, their families would be returned to them. 2110-2145 For forty-five years the wall progressed at a steady rate, but casualties sustained by security became so bad that they had to recruit from outside their township. This is where their relationship with Lola's Guns became almost too much to bear for the men and women of Vault 4 Security. The Overseer explained to Dudly that they had lost too many "organic solutions", as Dudly liked to call his human counterparts in Security, and that without reinforcements, they would surely be overrun by mutants or raiders. Dudly responded, not by waking more able young candidates out of cryosleep, as the Overseer had hoped, but instead hired mercenaries from Lola's Guns to serve as "temporary solutions." Though enraged by his mechanical counterparts' decision, the Overseer had little choice, and so from then on his men were stuck fighting alongside the psychotic brutes of Lola's Guns for much of the foreseeable future. 2145-2168 Twenty-three years later the Wall was nearing completion, but much of the original security force was dead, either of old age or attrition. The Overseer himself was now well over sixty, but held on, not only for the sake of his men, but their families who remained in a blissful state of suspended animation. The most dangerous part of this twenty year period was the arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel, whose early scouting forces launched a deadly sortie on the still incomplete wall. Though the combined force of security, mercenaries, and robots ran off the Brotherhood's forces. Regardless, the Overseer realized that they were swiftly running out of time. The slaves were forced to work overtime, with many dying from exhaustion. 2168-2188 In 2188 the Wall was finally complete. Armed to the teeth with automated guns, mine layers, and machine gun nests, not to mention reinforced with many feet of concrete and steel, it was an imposing citadel that could be seen for miles around. There was a nerve-wracking week in which Dudly inspected every inch of the Wall for any imperfections. Though the Wall was hardly perfect in the machine's photoreceptor, it was sufficient, and on March 7th, 2188, the people of Vault 4 were awakened for the first time in nearly a hundred years. When the families first lay their eyes on the world above, they were confused. The suburbia within the Wall looked as if it had been untouched, the result of constant maintenance done by the more benign robotic forces of the Chief of Maintenance. Then their eyes lay upon the mass of concrete and steel that loomed before them, stretching nearly fifty feet into the sky on all sides. The greatest shock was when they were reunited with their loved ones in the security. The few who survived to see their friends and family again were forever changed, some well over seventy, and though relived, were struggling with the horrors they had witnessed since the nuclear apocalypse It was at this moment that the mercenaries of Lola's Guns turned their guns on the newly awakened people of Union Town. They had long since plotted to take the Wall for themselves once the fortress was constructed, and plunder the riches of the Vault for their own nefarious needs. A pitched gun battle ensued, with robots and security fighting for their lives against the mercenaries. Shell-shocked construction slaves looked on, unsure of what to do. In the end, the forces of the Vault were victorious, and the raiders forced to flee over and down the very Wall they had constructed. In the bedlam the old Overseer was killed. The people of Union Town spent the rest of the year in mourning and adjusting to life in the new Union Town. The people organized themselves quickly, with the old security members becoming committee members and leaders in various fields. A new generation of Security was raised, and the civilians did what they could to get comfortable in their new home. Union Town had just begun to thrive, and it was then beset by its greatest foe. 2188-2211 The 8th Brigade of the the Brotherhood of Steel struck in 2189, ruthlessly bombarding the wall with missiles and mini-nukes one cold November day. Idaho's usual black snow had fallen and blanketed the area in a bitter cold, and the explosions rocked the dark midnight air. The still green forces of the new generation of Union Security, along with ancient veterans, rushed to the parapets and pillboxes to defend their home and family from this new, Power Armored menace. For six long years this war raged on, the Walls defenses were sorely tested, but it, and the brave defenders, held on. The Brotherhood forces eventually pulled back due to an influx in both regular and super mutant activity at their rear. Rather than be cut off, the Brotherhood decided it would be best to adjourn the siege and return later with more forces when it was advantageous. Given the respite they needed, the people of Union Town had gotten to life as usual. Many of the civilians tried to forget about the Wall, though they allowed themselves to be educated of the horrors of the outside. The few surviving security veterans and holo records taken by the robotic defenders painted a gruesome picture. The old world was dead, its corpse covered in disfigured abominations and savages. Worst of these though, were those brutes clad in power armor. They were cold, ruthless, and utterly without fear, and worst of all, they were the most civilized. They knew that they slew desperate old men and trampled on the hopes of innocent people, they didn't care, all they wanted was to rip Vault 4 apart and take what they found useful. After a period of government forming, in which they created a small copy of the Pre-War American presidency, and the completion of both a statue to the first Security members and the Overseer, along with a complete painting of the inner face of the wall, Union Town became as it would be for the foreseeable future. An idyllic, Pre-War paradise, safe from the horrors of the outside world. Government Union Town has deviated from the usual authoritarian rule of most Vaults, having done away with the office of Overseer and replacing it with a democratic Presidency. (though the term Overseer is used by most robotic inhabitants to refer to the President) beneath the President is four congressmen, each from their respective suburban quarters. Below these individuals are scores of lower offices that creates a near perfect picture of Pre-War Bureaucracy. (albeit more efficient due to the smaller scale) Military The Wall's Military force are the well trained and armed men, women, and combat robots of the Security. Simply known as Union Security or U-Sec, they act as both a local police force and front-line fighters on the Wall. There are three branches of Union Security. Security The largest branch, Security is made up of a volunteer force of predominantly men, though women are known to take many non-combat roles. Security is both the main military arm and police force of Union Town's Presidency. These proud and patriotic citizens see themselves as keepers of the piece and the last line of defense for their friends and family that live in the idyllic state of Union Town. However, due to the current Brotherhood-Wall war, they also suffer the greatest casualty rate, even with the Wall's built in defenses. Thus, more cynical citizens see Security as little more than a meat grinder, with only those lucky enough to be wounded taking up rather soft positions policing the calm streets of Union Town. The standard load out for the average, front line, U-Sec trooper is a suit of Vault-Tech Environmental Armor , which protects them well from latent radiation and chemical and biological agents, not to mention provides extra fire protection and basic ballistic protection, a Marksman Carbine or AER 10 Laser Rifle, a pair of frag grenades, and finally, three stimpaks. Auto-Sec Auto-Sec is controlled directly by the Chief of Maintenance -the exceedingly cunning Protectron- Dudly, and by proxy, the current President of Union Town. Made up of a sizable force of Mister Gutsies, Securitrons, and Protectrons, along with a few surveillance and combat Eyebots, Auto-Sec is a both a potent military and police force. However, Dudly has been known for his habit of overlooking Auto-Secs human counterparts in U-Sec, and has gone over the head of the current administrator on more than one occasion. Bureau of Special Activities (B.S.A) Made up of elite Infantry, Agents, Eyebots, and Securitron units, the B.S.A was formed after the Red Scare of 2223, and is essentially the personal bodyguard of high profile administrators, elite military force, and a police force specializing in dealing with "Communist Subverters." Specialists known as Agents are the most common force, professionals in detecting communist spies and the only members of Union Towns armed forces to be sent on sorties out into the wasteland for irreplaceable technological artifacts that are essential to keep the Wall Society alive. Armed with advanced pre-War weaponry such as Plasma Pistols and Gatling Lasers, they are by far the best combatants Union Town can bring forth. Culture A near perfect picture of the nostalgic pre-War American society, the people of Union Town live lives as sickeningly wholesome as the most upbeat pre-War sitcom. At least, it appears to be so on the surface. In reality, though life in the Wall Society is practically suburban paradise, it is also a place of constant societal one upmanship and intrigue. With the constant paranoia and fear of the resurgence of the "Red Menace" within their own walls, plus the ruthless perfection based culture of the domestic pre-war America, the people of Union Town are as patriotic as they are paranoid. Economy Being highly xenophobic and dedicated to living the ideal pre-War American lifestyle, the people of union town live in a small scale capitalistic economy that has, though careful management, existed as a self-perpetuated system. pre-War American dollars and coins are the preferred mediums of exchange. Category:Places Category:Communities Category:Groups Category:Idaho Category:Adoptable